That day always stays with me.

The teacher had rolled out a TV for us to watch the launch live. Was exciting because if Christy McCullough. We watched all those people, smiling, waving, full of life and vigor.

You could imagine them all taking their places because it had been televised for weeks.

So even though i could only see the outside of the shuttle as it went up, I could visualize them inside flipping switches and each doing their discreet duties.

And then it was like a firecracker. I didn't even register anything was wrong. And the whole shit just exploded. My teacher had no idea what to do. No one knew. The aftermath was devastating. And they found those bodies in some of the most gruesome conditions, suggesting that they had survived the initial explosion which was just...awful.